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Thursday, December 6, 2012

90210

90210

Episode 8: 902-100

The Series 100th
Episode Special Review

By: Carlos Uribe

90210
is a show about wealthy kids who do business and go to college in the
zip. Or something.

Spoilers
Ahoy!

The
series begins with a title card that reveals that this is the 100th
episode of the series because the last two digits of the series name
are growing big along with an extra zero. It's a way for the series
to establish the significance of this episode but it also made it
unnecessary to have the opening credits after the first act. The
episode ended with the name of the series showing up once again
before the production credits begin. By beginning and ending the
episode with a special reference to the title of the series calls to
attention that the series is going to be doing special for long-time
fans. That something special involves going back to West Beverly
High School, bringing back old characters, having a special musical
star perfom on the show, and reviving Vanessa. The question becomes
if the one hundreth episode continues the steak of surprisingly good
90210 episodes or if going back to the high school meant also going
back to the frustratingly stupid show of past seasons. The answer is
that this episode sadly breaks the streak and brings this show back
down to earth. What's even worse is that the episode is actually
pretty dull for the most part.

Since
this is the one hundreth episode, let's talk about the series as a
whole. It started out as a sequel to the original Beverly Hills
90210. The first couple of seasons had characters from the original
and it had developed some arcs leftover from the old show. This was
to try and get the fans from the original show to check this one out.
This sequel eventually got the confidence to stop catering to the old
fans and the old characters, along with references to the original,
disappeared in the third season. It has since then largely depended
on itself to attract viewers and it should come as no surprise that
this series is as low-rated as Gossip Girl now. This is because this
is the first season of 90210 where the good has actually outweighed
the bad. Considering that this is the fifth season of the show, it's
simply too little and too late. This escapist show might not have
never been that good to begin with but it did trick me into being a
loyal viewer. That's all because I decided to check this show out and
got hooked when Adrianna's life was in danger due to her drug
problem. There's nothing like a decently executed cliff-hanger to
ensure that I'll return. Of course, that was all the way back in the
first season and this show hasn't really been good enough for me to
admit it out loud that I like it. It's a guilty pleasure that I love
to hate.

The
series was initially developed by Rob Thomas, Gabe Sachs, and Jeff
Judah. The version that Rob Thomas developed was actually pretty
different than the one that aired. Some of his ideas were still used
so he still got credited. Gabe Sachs and Jeff Judah presented a 90210
that was supposed to be more mature and realistic. The best part
about their version was Jessica Walters basically reprising her role
from Arrested Development. The duo would have major disagreements
with the network over the storylines and the series was largely
considered unsuccessful. They largely stepped down their roles
halfway through the season to transistion over to Rebecca Sinclair.
Sinclair was able to improve the show just enough for it to gain a
stable fanbase. She's seen as saving the show but it's not like her
version was a massive improvement. Patti Carr and Lara Olsen would
take over the show starting with the fourth season. This is largely
their version that I've been reviewing. They dropped the popular
character Teddy and have only recently been presenting a passable
show.

The
characters themselves have changed. The series started out with a
good amount of adults that were slowly phased out of the show as the
teenagers matured. The series had started out concentrating on Annie
and Dixon before realizing that Naomi was a much stronger
protagonist. This worked for the second and third season but became a
problem with Patti Carr and Lara Olsen took over. Sinclair had been
able to keep Naomi's wealth within a reasonable level and her ability
to throw parties was on a human level. In other words, Sinclair was
able to keep Naomi grounded. A large problem with Patti Carr and Lara
Olsen is that they have turned Naomi into a superhero when it comes
to socializing and have given her infinite funds. A large problem
with this episode is that Naomi is literally able to do anything
without a single problem. She takes over a charity event that's
supposed to happen later that day and she manages to change it's
location to the Playboy Mansion and get a celebrity to perform there
without blinking an eye. The creators have decided that because she
had a small career as a party planner that the actual act of throwing
together a massive event in less than one day is a cakewalk to Naomi.
Their writing has turned Naomi from a human being that I loved in
Sinclair 90210 into one that's largely a cartoon I tolerate. The only
reason I can stand her is because Max is able to draw out the
humanity she has left.

So
what happened to Annie and Dixon? Dixon has always been a dull
character and that largely hasn't changed. He finds out this episode
that his girlfriend had been cheating on him but it's still hard to
take his side when he abandoned her to go on a tour. Of course, Dixon
simply wasn't handled well in the previous season. He had a drug plot
that wasn't executed well (although it's reminder this season was)
while his concentration on his career was dull. This season has made
him more interesting because of his disability but I'm worried about
his immaturity at the end of the episode. I understand wanting to
seek revenge on Silver but it's seems unprofessional to use her
contract to undermine her professionaly. It made him seem more like a
child than the adult that he's supposed to be. As for Annie? It's
hard to make a judgy hipocrite likeable and the series hasn't made
any strides there. She does seem inspired by Jasper and Emily to
write about her past mistakes in a blog. These two duo who were
supposed to be the heart and soul of this show ended up being two
characters that the series never properly figured out how to
consistently use them. Just when it seems like the show seems like
it's finally made one of them rootable due to a great plotline, the
writers feel the need to remind us why these two simply failed to
hold the show together.

Now
let's talk about two characters that are completely different from
the ones we met: Silver and Teddy. Silver used to be a tomboy rebel
who hated popularity and school dances. She managed to remain that
character for a while but she started to change. Character
development is the entire point of a story but a character should
never change their core person. The Silver from the first season
looked down on shallow people and was more about depth and
personality. The Silver from this season is currently facing a
shallow crisis. Her medical fear and wanting to have a child are two
plot developments that make sense for Silver. Having her be afraid
that her body is going to look due to the pregnancy and surgery? That
is something that seems out-of-character from the Silver I first met.
It's a pity that while Silver remains one of the best characters on
the show, we did lose the rebel character that wasn't hung up on
superficiality. The only explanation other than lazy writing is that
she's off her bipolar medication again. As for Teddy? His character
development has been largely perfect ever since the writers made him
gay. He wasn't a popular character when he was first introduced but
he would eventually become the best character this show has ever
done. That he's been reduced to the occasional guest role remains
mystifying. Silver doing the Burlesque dance to show off her body
might fit the arc but it doesn't fit the character. Teddy running
away from his boyfriend's desire for serious commitment fits the arc
and the character.

Liam
is another character that has completely changed. He used to be the
bad boy of the series. I still remember the scene where he basically
called Annie a volcano. In fact, that's usually the first scene I
think of when my mind goes to Liam. He was a troublemaker who had
trouble communicating his point. He's now a famous model and actor
who owns a bar. He is no longer the bad boy nor is he really the Liam
from the first season. This is partly because of his character
development and maturity but it was partly forced by the writers. If
you had never known the Liam from the first season, could you imagine
him going to Annie and making fun of her fake smile? That's exactly
my point: he's developed into someone who is unrecognizble from his
starting self. That's simply bad character development. This can't be
blamed on the current showrunners as it started from the beginning of
season three. It simply isn't until recently that it's really become
apparent to me. It doesn't help that he's become a more superficial
person. I'm not sure what it is about this show but it sure likes to
take the human characters it started with and turn them into mere
shadows of themselves.

The
final two main characters that are currently on the show are Navid
and Adrianna. Navid has always been the least interesting character
from the show. Whereas you can tell what Dixon is going through based
on who he's dating, you can tell who Navid currently is based on his
dream job. First he wanted to be a journalist and he was in love with
Adrianna. He eventually quit that job to run a music video studio out
of his father's old porn studio. This is after his father had been
arrested. He went on to be a club promoter as his studio magically
disappeared. Now it looks like his job is to live at a bar in order
to keep an eye on it. As for Adrianna? She was okay at first before
becoming intolerable. The show then managed to turn my hatred towards
her to apathy. Her plots are often the hardest to actually remember.

There
are some other characters that played a role in this episode. There
is Emily, a character from the third season who I've completely
forgotten about. She literally left no impression. Did the writers
actually think we remember her or did they include her because the
actress was the only one free? She quickly disappears after bragging
about how she's a big deal in the blogging world. Jasper comes back
to give Liam his screenplay. Jasper was a character who literally
dragged Annie into unlikeable territory. I was really wary about his
presence and I was glad when it turned out to be nothing serious. I
still don't like him. The other characters who played a role on this
episode were introduced this episode outside of Vanessa. Her being in
water opens and the closes the episode. In the beginning, Liam dreams
about her drowned body. In the end, it's to reveal that she's still
alive and probably the crazy person who is trying to frighten Liam.
Bringing back old characters is fine for a hundreth episode but it
feels like a missing opportunity to mention the main characters who
have been dropped over the years. The adult characters, Ethan, and
Ivy all come to mind. Catching the viewers up on them, even if
they're on-screen, is more rewarding to fans than bringing in a minor
and forgettable character from the third season.

902-100
was for the most part dull. There were some interesting developments
such as Max's new CEO turning out to be a Benedict Arnold. On the
other hand, it seems awfully quick for a CEO that just got hired to
fire the visionary who built the company. It's also quite infiurating
that every new character on this show who can walk is intrested in
immediately scheming and all. Can't the show introduce characters
that are normal like it used to? Whatever the case, 902-100 is an
episode that breaks the streak this show has been on. I can't say I'm
surprised, I'm just disappointed that it had to be this episode.

Other Notes:

I
seriously thought that Reese character was going to be Lila or Gia
until she said her name. This was making no sense since I'm sure
neither character had a problem with Naomi but it would have made
sense considering how the series had been bringing back old
characters.

Speaking
about Old Characters: Annie calls Emily “Cousin Emily”-a cheap
writing trick to remind viewers that the characters are cousin.

Silver's
health problems through the show: she's bipolar, she can't get
pregnant on her own, and she has a gene that makes it likely for her
to get cancer. I don't think this bodes well for her in the future.